Nasa delays Shuttle launch

[thefinalfrontier]

By MARCIA DUNN, AP Aerospace Writer

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - NASA is delaying next month's shuttle launch to the Hubble Space Telescope because of problems stemming from Hurricane Ike and replacement parts for the observatory.

Space shuttle Atlantis is now set to blast off late at night on Oct. 14 for the last visit to the orbiting telescope, officials said Wednesday. Liftoff had been scheduled for the wee hours of Oct. 10, technically making this a five-day postponement.

Senior managers will reassess the launch date next week.

Atlantis' seven astronauts, who wrapped up a practice countdown at the launching site Wednesday, lost a week of training because of Hurricane Ike. The hurricane shut down the Johnson Space Center in Houston, which did not reopen until this week.

Payload problems also contributed to the delay. Last week, NASA had trouble with the insulation on replacement batteries for Hubble and, over the weekend, encountered snags loading the equipment at the launch pad.

The delay also pushes back the launch of Endeavour's space station mission to Nov. 16. Endeavour will serve as the rescue ship for Atlantis, if needed. It is the first time that NASA has ever had a space shuttle on the launch pad, ready to blast off as a rescue ship if there is an emergency.

Tropical storms Fay and Hanna, which held up work at the launch site, prompted NASA earlier this month to put off the Hubble flight by two days. The original launch date was Oct. 8.

Link

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080925/ap_on_...r4BE3q3us2s0NUE

___

On the Net:

NASA: http://spaceflight.nasa.gov

[MID]

By MARCIA DUNN, AP Aerospace Writer

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - NASA is delaying next month's shuttle launch to the Hubble Space Telescope because of problems stemming from Hurricane Ike and replacement parts for the observatory.

Space shuttle Atlantis is now set to blast off late at night on Oct. 14 for the last visit to the orbiting telescope, officials said Wednesday. Liftoff had been scheduled for the wee hours of Oct. 10, technically making this a five-day postponement.

Senior managers will reassess the launch date next week.

Atlantis' seven astronauts, who wrapped up a practice countdown at the launching site Wednesday, lost a week of training because of Hurricane Ike. The hurricane shut down the Johnson Space Center in Houston, which did not reopen until this week.

Payload problems also contributed to the delay. Last week, NASA had trouble with the insulation on replacement batteries for Hubble and, over the weekend, encountered snags loading the equipment at the launch pad.

The delay also pushes back the launch of Endeavour's space station mission to Nov. 16. Endeavour will serve as the rescue ship for Atlantis, if needed. It is the first time that NASA has ever had a space shuttle on the launch pad, ready to blast off as a rescue ship if there is an emergency.

Tropical storms Fay and Hanna, which held up work at the launch site, prompted NASA earlier this month to put off the Hubble flight by two days. The original launch date was Oct. 8.

Link

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080925/ap_on_...r4BE3q3us2s0NUE

___

On the Net:

NASA: http://spaceflight.nasa.gov

Funny isn't it?

I'll bet there's some clandestine motive for this delay.

They'll be launching on October 14 now...the date of the visitation!

[Waspie_Dwarf]

They'll be launching on October 14 now...the date of the visitation!

Actually they probably won't. The launch date is now under review as a result of a "significant Hubble Space Telescope anomaly".

[MID]

Actually they probably won't. The launch date is now under review as a result of a "significant Hubble Space Telescope anomaly".

Yes...I got into that last night.

OK, then...if it's postponed (which I think based on last night's info will be the case...as we're probably going to need to replace the faulty unit as well as everything else), I bet it will have been postponed because of the impeding visitation.

We don't want the shuttle up there when a Moon sized spacecraft appears on orbit out there, eh????

[danielost]

I have a question. In all of the space launches we have never had a rescue ship on stand by. Why do we now?

[DONTEATUS]

Its simple Use your ever expanding Imagination.

[MID]

I have a question. In all of the space launches we have never had a rescue ship on stand by. Why do we now?

Actually daniel, there are rescue missions planned and standing by on all Shuttle missions. However, in this case, there is a criticality present in the Hubble mission because it is not going to, nor can it go to the ISS.

If we were to have a major problem on an ISS Shuttle flight, we'd be docked to the ISS, which provides a great margin for safety as they roll out a rescue flight, prep it, and get it launched.

In the case of STS-125, it will be no where near the ISS, will be much higher, and have no capability to reach the ISS should a serious problem occur. Thus, we pad another shuttle readied to launch immediately if some critical problem occurs in such a mission.

Now of course, 125 is delayed and 126 will fly to the ISS in November first. There'll be some scrambling to get the other orbiters ready for their contingency missions. The STS-126 mission will have an orbiter on standby in the VAB, and another orbiter will be cycled to be the rescue mission vehicle for the 2009 STS-125 Hubble mission.

They all have rescue missions attached to them. It's just thet the criticality for an ISS docked mission is not as severe as a mission that will not have access to the safety of the station, so we don't pad another vehicle concurrent with ISS missions.

[bee]

We don't want the shuttle up there when a Moon sized spacecraft appears on orbit out there, eh????

It's not going to be THAT big.....

[MID]

It's not going to be THAT big.....

2000 miles across is that big....

[Waspie_Dwarf]

Now of course, 125 is delayed and 126 will fly to the ISS in November first. There'll be some scrambling to get the other orbiters ready for their contingency missions. The STS-126 mission will have an orbiter on standby in the VAB, and another orbiter will be cycled to be the rescue mission vehicle for the 2009 STS-125 Hubble mission.

They all have rescue missions attached to them. It's just thet the criticality for an ISS docked mission is not as severe as a mission that will not have access to the safety of the station, so we don't pad another vehicle concurrent with ISS missions.

Actually the orbiter for STS-126, Endeavour, is already on pad 39B. Atlantis will be rolled back to the VAB, then Endeavor will be moved from 39B to 39A where it will have it's payload installed.

Discovery is currently slated to fly the STS-119 mission with launch scheduled for Feb. 12, 2009. I suspect that Discovery will now become the STS-400 orbiter (that is the hypothetical rescue mission).

As was planned for Endeavour, Discovery will initially be rolled out to 39B once Atlantis is returned to pad 39A. Discovery will be moved to 39A and have it's payload installed once Atlantis has returned safely from Hubble.

A launch will only occur from 39B in the case of a rescue mission being needed. 39B is currently being modified for the Ares ! launcher for the Constellation programme, with the first launch, of the Ares 1-X test vehicle due in 2009.

[MID]

Actually the orbiter for STS-126, Endeavour, is already on pad 39B. Atlantis will be rolled back to the VAB, then Endeavor will be moved from 39B to 39A where it will have it's payload installed.

Discovery is currently slated to fly the STS-119 mission with launch scheduled for Feb. 12, 2009. I suspect that Discovery will now become the STS-400 orbiter (that is the hypothetical rescue mission).

As was planned for Endeavour, Discovery will initially be rolled out to 39B once Atlantis is returned to pad 39A. Discovery will be moved to 39A and have it's payload installed once Atlantis has returned safely from Hubble.

A launch will only occur from 39B in the case of a rescue mission being needed. 39B is currently being modified for the Ares ! launcher for the Constellation programme, with the first launch, of the Ares 1-X test vehicle due in 2009.

Wait a minute...

Who's on A? What's on B? Aaaaaahhhh !

Nothing like musical Shuttles eh??

[Fluffybunny]

Wait a minute...

Who's on A? What's on B? Aaaaaahhhh !

Nothing like musical Shuttles eh??

...and I dont knows' on third base...

Can you imagine the fun of waiting until both shuttles get slowly rolled out to each pad and getting setup...and then sending out the memo: "hi guys and gals...did I say that Discovery was supposed to be on A? oopsie, sorry, I was having a dyslexic day, I meant B...if you guys could do the switcheroo it would be great, thanks..." and the split second the final bolt was in place sending out the sending out the second memo... "ummm...on second thought..."

[MID]

Can you imagine the fun of waiting until both shuttles get slowly rolled out to each pad and getting setup...and then sending out the memo: "hi guys and gals...did I say that Discovery was supposed to be on A? oopsie, sorry, I was having a dyslexic day, I meant B...if you guys could do the switcheroo it would be great, thanks..." and the split second the final bolt was in place sending out the sending out the second memo... "ummm...on second thought..."

...

I rather visualize the pad and transporter crews turning around and driving the whole stack into the office buildings where the manager in doubt was sitting!

[Waspie_Dwarf]

Nothing like musical Shuttles eh??

I understood what was going on before I wrote that. By the time I had finished I need a stiff drink and a long lie down (or was it a long drink and a stiff lie down )

[MID]

I understood what was going on before I wrote that. By the time I had finished I need a stiff drink and a long lie down (or was it a long drink and a stiff lie down )

...probably a long, stiff dring and a long lie down!

[danielost]

...

I rather visualize the pad and transporter crews turning around and driving the whole stack into the office buildings where the manager in doubt was sitting!

both